Must Strike Hard!

After leaving the Sanitation Bureau, Li Ye got on his electric scooter, withdrew money from the bank, and then started looking for a restaurant.

Although Ningjiang City is a third-tier city, it's situated by mountains and water, making it rich in ingredients. They often procure some excellent ones.

For example, the restaurant Li Ye visited is a mid-to-high-end establishment in Ningjiang City, renowned for its pork dishes.

He ordered two servings of braised pork at 68 each, two plates of vegetables, two bowls of rice, and two servings of Jade Marrow Black Bristle Boar meat at 1280 each.

The former is ordinary pork, while the latter is not. It's pork from a creature with merit, a pig that has become a demon, a carefully selected one.

This ingredient is actually from farmed pigs, which have a chance to transform into demons. It's considered benign.

The most valuable part is the bone marrow, while the meat is relatively affordable.

Ordinary people eating the meat can enhance their immunity. It sells for over 300 yuan per jin on the market, sometimes reaching 400-500 yuan.

Li Ye had considered going to an all-you-can-eat buffet. In fact, his first reaction upon gaining Authority was to hit a buffet to maximize Blood Essence gain with minimal economic cost.

The problem is, there aren't that many buffet restaurants in this world.

It's unclear if it's because martial artists can eat so much that businesses find it unprofitable. There are all sorts of businesses, but no affordable buffet restaurants.

The buffets Li Ye knows of are prohibitively expensive, forcing him to be meticulous with his budgeting.

As soon as the dishes arrived, Li Ye ate half of them with ordinary chopsticks, feeling his Blood Essence increase.

A bowl of rice, about half a jin in portion, only increased his Blood Essence by 0.001. A plate of vegetables yielded the same increase. Roughly half a jin of braised pork increased it by 0.005.

Similarly, the half jin of Jade Marrow Black Bristle Boar, despite its high price, disappointed Li Ye.

The taste was indeed excellent, and the unique cooking method made it very enjoyable, but his Blood Essence only increased by 0.008.

His lunch today, this single meal, was equivalent to about three jin of Ironclad Boar meat. Comparatively, one jin of Jade Marrow Black Bristle Boar meat only provided a tiny bit more Blood Essence than one jin of Ironclad Boar meat.

The cost-effectiveness was terrible. Even if he bought it himself to cook, it would be less worthwhile than eating several more bowls of beef noodles.

Besides the taste, it was useless. But now was not the time for Li Ye to indulge.

After finishing with his ordinary chopsticks, he took out his magic treasure, the 'Five Flavors Chopsticks,' and used them to eat.

The result was very satisfying.

Firstly, the taste. The food he ate with these chopsticks had a richer flavor profile. Even ordinary stir-fried vegetables tasted like delicacies, and even plain white rice became much more fragrant than before.

He wouldn't get tired of just eating rice.

And the most expensive Jade Marrow Black Bristle Boar, when eaten with the Five Flavors Chopsticks, almost made Li Ye burst out of his clothes.

His Blood Essence increased threefold!

"Check out!"

After finishing this meal, which cost over two thousand yuan, Li Ye had a plan.

From the beef noodles and buns this morning, to the school lunch at noon, and now this 'grand feast,' he had found the most cost-effective way to increase his Blood Essence.

Eating rice!

"One jin of rice can be cooked into two and a half jin, which can increase Blood Essence by 0.005. Combined with the effect of the Five Flavors Chopsticks, it can increase by 0.015, comparable to one jin of Ironclad Boar meat."

Li Ye calculated in his mind, "At most, 1400 jin, and I can break through the Dragon Gate!"

Rice costs about five yuan per jin on the market, and even cheaper if bought in bulk. Next, he just needed to buy some durable rice cookers.

They didn't need to be expensive. A 150 yuan rice cooker that can cook two jin of rice would suffice. He'd need about twenty of them.

Cooked in half an hour, he could cook four jin in an hour. Twenty of them would mean eighty jin.

Cooking and eating simultaneously, in just over ten hours, he could consume 1400 jin of rice.

Around seven thousand yuan, and one day to break through the Dragon Gate!

If combined with his Training Method, it might be even faster.

The only requirement was to find a spacious place where he could carry out these operations.

As for excretion...

Authority isn't meant to be so inconvenient.

His body structure was still that of a normal person, with normal functions. When Authority consumed food, it was equivalent to a stomach that only absorbed and didn't excrete. His real stomach, after digestion, would produce waste as usual.

With his rice plan in mind, Li Ye returned home.

His parents were both returning late today. One was probably busy, and the other had a night shift. They had prepared the meals at noon, so Li Ye just needed to reheat them when he got home.

The dishes didn't change much. He ate all of the daily essential 'Dragon Blood Stewed Mountain Ginseng and Deer Tendon.'

The Blood Essence from this soup was comparable to one jin of Ironclad Boar meat. With the effect of the Five Flavors Chopsticks, it also tripled.

After feeling full, Li Ye began his Guiding Method. An hour later, he continued practicing Springing Leg to strengthen the Blood Essence he had consumed.

By the time he finished practicing, his parents had returned. After a brief chat, Li Ye washed up and went to bed.

He decided not to mention the Five Flavors Chopsticks for now.

He understood the principle that an innocent man can be condemned for his wealth. Just the price alone would make a normal family anxious. Revealing it now would only create tension.

The next day, he went to school as usual. The incident with Guo Chuming caused no ripples, as if it never happened. He continued with his usual classes, training, and then eating.

On the third day, after Yan Menglu nagged them a few more times about studying hard, the school bell rang, and their summer vacation officially began.

"Brother Ye! See you in senior year!"

At the school gate, Deng Hao solemnly said to Li Ye as if he were going to his death, then strode away with his head held high.

Jia Dong, standing beside him, sighed and said to Li Ye, "I've inquired. That master instructor came from a Key Martial Arts University and is very experienced, but it's very tough."

Key Martial Arts University refers to a top-tier martial arts university.

In the Divine Land, martial arts universities, like liberal arts universities, are divided into three tiers: ordinary, key, and top.

One only qualifies to apply to a key martial arts university if they reach the Four Dragon Gates in high school.

It's easy to imagine that with expensive ingredients and training from a 'famous master,' one's Blood Essence would be pushed to its limits in two months. The hardship involved is far greater than training in a martial arts dojo.

Only preparatory students would pay money to suffer like this.

"I'll be going too, Brother Ye,"

Jia Dong pursed his lips and pondered, "Honestly, you're the person I admire most. You're the most level-headed in the prep class, and I often look up to you. Now that you're confident and Deng Hao has committed, there's no reason for me not to give it a shot. So..."

"We'll still be in the same class in senior year, right?"

Hearing this, Li Ye's lips curved into a smile. "Of course, I guarantee it."

"Alright! See you in senior year!"

Jia Dong grinned, "I'm off to suffer too!"

Young men, brotherhood is also very important.

Li Ye smiled and left on his electric scooter.

In three days, the plan was almost complete, just waiting for execution.

Finding a place was easy. About forty to fifty miles east was the suburban town, where there were many empty bungalows. Although none were available for daily rent, monthly rentals were possible and very cheap.

Whether the place was good or not didn't matter, as long as it had water, electricity, and enough space.

The seller for the rice had also been found. Since he was buying a large quantity, he got a wholesale price of three yuan.

The rice cooker had been selected online, waiting to be ordered.

Everything was set for tomorrow.

His parents returned earlier than usual today, and Li Ye found them waiting when he got home.

During their usual dinner, Li Ye looked at the bowl of Dragon Blood Stewed Mountain Ginseng and Deer Tendon, which was served as usual, and shook his head helplessly.

The night he received the Five Flavors Chopsticks, he had already mentioned that he felt he was on the verge of a breakthrough and asked them not to prepare these things.

But his parents wouldn't listen, still insisting on a bowl of soup every day.

However, it didn't matter. Once he presented the facts, they would be more convincing than anything else.

"Xiao Ye, we have something to tell you."

Halfway through the meal, Li Haihua put down his chopsticks and said, "We've found a master instructor for you."

Li Ye's eating paused, and he asked in surprise, "Master instructor? Dad, didn't I tell you? I'm confident I can break through."

Liu Qingxia sighed softly, "Xiao Ye, we know what you're thinking, but we really can't agree to you giving up now. Please try it."

Li Haihua nodded. "Yes, no matter what, just try for the summer. If it really doesn't work out, we won't stop you from switching to liberal arts."

He had withdrawn from the martial arts dojo, wanted to switch to liberal arts, and then told them he was going to break through?

They saw through this little trick at a glance.

They just treated Li Ye's words as a delaying tactic.

Li Ye: "..."

"Where would we get the money?"

He understood what his parents were thinking, but he was very confused.

The family already owed twenty thousand yuan.

The remaining money was barely enough for daily living expenses, especially with him, a bottomless pit who cost seven to eight thousand yuan a month just for food. There was no way they could afford a master instructor at this stage.

These types of instructors who specialized in boosting Blood Essence were prohibitively expensive, not something an ordinary family like his could consider.

"You don't need to worry about that."

Li Haihua smiled. "This master instructor was originally from Yangcheng. They say he's helped many people enter the Dragon Gate Realm. All you need is to meet the conditions. Your grades are 'Excellent,' and after assessment, the master instructor decided to teach you. He guarantees you'll enter the Dragon Gate!"

"Yes, and it's high-tech martial arts training, unlike the methods on the market today,"

Liu Qingxia put a piece of meat on Li Ye's plate. "The other party is also here to open up the market in Ningjiang City. We just happened to see it, and after investigating, we decided to sign you up."

Li Ye said helplessly, "What high-tech martial arts training? There are no shortcuts in martial arts."

"There are many success stories from that place, and it's not all about technology; you still have to train. It's a combination of martial arts and technology that makes training more scientific," Liu Qingxia argued.

Li Ye pursed his lips and didn't reply. He just asked, "How much did it cost?"

"Only thirty thousand yuan."

Li Haihua said, "For those who sign the contract, as long as your physical test is 'Excellent,' we'll absolutely help you break through the Dragon Gate. If you don't, we'll give you a full refund. And we don't even charge for food; everything is covered."

A full thirty thousand to break through the Dragon Gate? And a full refund if you don't?

Are they running a charity?

"I understand."

Li Ye lowered his head and ate, "I'll go tomorrow."

Trying to persuade his parents was completely useless. His parents were the most straightforward kind of ordinary people; if they truly had any understanding, they wouldn't believe such fantastical things.

He knew about high-tech martial arts training. It was very popular in the West, but it had no market in Divine Land.

Every high-tech martial arts training program on the market in Divine Land was just ripping people off.

Tomorrow, he would just go and get his money back, and then he would break through the Dragon Gate.

On the first day of summer vacation, at six in the morning, Li Ye got up early and called for a car, heading straight to the suburban location he had booked.

The place where he rented his apartment was basically no different from the countryside. People had either moved to the city or gone to work elsewhere, leaving many places empty.

The house he chose was a derelict building far from the town, built by people from a nearby town who had since moved to the city.

The house contained nothing but a dusty table and a bed board. The rent was six hundred a month, and Li Ye, too lazy to haggle, paid promptly and got the key.

With the address, he ordered an electric rice cooker online and contacted a rice seller. Once everything was arranged, he took a taxi to the address of the 'Master Craftsman' his parents had given him.

This address spanned almost the entirety of Ningjiang City. His family lived in the East District, while this address was in the North District, also a suburb, by the national highway, close to Dragon Mountain to the north, with suburban farmland opposite.

The place Li Ye arrived at was a three-story villa with a front yard, nicely decorated.

This didn't surprise him; businesses of this type always put on a good show.

The main gate was open. Li Ye knocked on the open door, signaling his arrival.

"Welcome, welcome!"

A middle-aged man in a Tang suit, with a beaming smile, quickly came up from the basement stairs.

Seeing the man, Li Ye was slightly taken aback.

The man's steps were steady. He looked thin but moved with strength, and his arm swings clearly carried a hidden force.

He gave Li Ye the same feeling as martial arts instructors, school martial arts teachers, and his homeroom teacher Yan Menglu.

This guy not only practiced martial arts but was also a martial artist who had broken through the Dragon Gate.

"You're Li Ye? You're the first student to sign up for this recruitment."

The middle-aged man chuckled, "My name is Tang Shengchun, you can call me Coach Tang. Let's not waste time; you're here for training, so follow me to the basement."

He gestured and went back down the stairs. Li Ye had no choice but to follow.

The basement was significantly larger than the upstairs area, filled with modern training equipment. However, along one wall, he saw a row of transparent cylindrical containers, like medical pods.

"We are a scientific martial arts approach that combines high-tech training, specializing in boosting Blood Essence for breaking through the Dragon Gate. This training method is mainstream in the West," Tang Shengchun said with a smile. "Of course, a good foundation is also necessary, so we only recruit preparatory students whose physical tests reached 'Excellent' in school. Your parents told me your grades are good, but we still need to test you."

He pointed to the training equipment. "Three items will suffice: strength, punching power, and speed. Let's test those first."

Li Ye frowned upon hearing this.

They were standard testing machines, but also the most useless.

Because these machines were too standardized, but Blood Essence was never a standard thing.

The results of the three tests would vary depending on each person's weight, and although they could be correlated to Blood Essence strength, they were essentially no different from the physical tests at his school.

This testing method was indeed popular in the West, but in Divine Land, such things were completely invalid, especially for those who learned Training Methods at martial arts schools.

This was one of the reasons why high-tech martial arts training couldn't gain traction in Divine Land.

"Alright."

Li Ye wanted to see what tricks this guy had up his sleeve.

He clapped his hands and walked over to the barbells. He tested the weights of several barbells and chose one that was most suitable for him. Then, he gripped the barbell with both hands, took a deep breath, squatted down, and suddenly lifted it upwards.

"300 jin deadlift."

Tang Shengchun nodded, "Your strength is a bit low. Next, let's test your punching power."

Li Ye put down the barbell and walked to the punching power machine. He adopted a horse stance, placed his hands on his waist, and delivered a straight punch to the testing machine, making a 'bang' sound.

The number on the display jumped to three hundred and fifty.

"700 jin of force, moderate." Tang Shengchun's voice rang out.

Li Ye shifted to a bow stance, took a deep breath, exerted force from his waist, his left foot scraping the ground with a harsh sound, and with a twist, his right foot shot out like a straight sword towards the punching power machine.

Door-Kicking Kick!

Bang!!

The number jumped to one thousand!

"2000 jin of strength, excellent!"

Tang Shengchun smiled and nodded. "Next, we'll test speed."

Li Ye walked onto a special treadmill. After stepping on it, he exerted force with his thighs and quickly ran.

Only when a '9.96' appeared on the display did Li Ye grab the handrails on either side, using his momentum to jump and land on the ground.

"100 meters in 9.96 seconds, excellent, and you have excellent jumping ability too."

Tang Shengchun lightly applauded. "Hmm, your overall fitness is level 8. In Western physical tests, level 10 is the standard, and anything above level 7 is considered excellent. You've passed."

"And then what?" Li Ye asked.

"Our scientific training here is to first exhaust your stamina, then supplement it with scientific dietary therapy and equipment. So, use the equipment here and train with me until you're completely exhausted."

Tang Shengchun extended his hand. "Or, we can spar."

"Spar with you?" Li Ye looked over.

"Don't worry, I'm at the Dragon Gate Realm. I won't get hurt."

Tang Shengchun chuckled and struck a boxing pose, taking small, shuffling steps.

Judging by his stance, this wasn't a training method from the Divine Land, but rather from the West.

Li Ye thought for a moment, then got into a ready stance. "Then I'll attack first!"

Whoosh!

As soon as he finished speaking, he closed the distance, his legs moving like the wind, launching a whip kick.

Tang Shengchun simply shifted back, forming one hand into a palm and slapping down Li Ye's leg, blocking the attack.

"Yes, just like that. Keep attacking. Use your full strength and unleash your stamina."

Li Ye clicked his tongue. The leg that was pushed down then jabbed downwards, aiming for his knee, abdomen, and chest, but each attack was met with a palm strike.

It wasn't a difference in skill, but purely a matter of reaction speed.

Li Ye's aptitude in martial arts might not be exceptional, but he had studied it extensively.

Through a series of attacks, he began to see some patterns. Based on the techniques Tang Shengchun displayed, they were inferior to those in the Divine Land.

His rapid change of attack from a straight kick to a side kick had actually landed on Tang Shengchun's ribs, but it was quickly circumvented and suppressed by his Dragon Gate Realm cultivation.

The other party also launched an offense. A straight punch was just that, and any last-minute changes were merely a matter of reaction ability. Although Tang Shengchun was holding back, Li Ye could still tell.

This style of fighting was a direct reflection of raw strength, lacking the finesse of their own methods.

If Li Ye and Tang Shengchun were at the same cultivation level, Li Ye would definitely win.

However, with Tang Shengchun being at the Dragon Gate Realm, it was a pure suppression of reaction speed.

They sparred for two hours until Li Ye started to pant, his body involuntarily lowering, and only then did Tang Shengchun stop.

"Hmm, very good. Wait here."

He walked up the stairs and disappeared into the basement.

Before long, Tang Shengchun reappeared, holding a bowl of dark liquid, and handed it to Li Ye.

"This is the core of scientific martial arts training, a basic nutrient solution newly developed in the West."

Tang Shengchun said, "You're the first student I've recruited in Ningjiang City. When you break through to the Dragon Gate Realm, you can help me promote it. After all, even the best methods won't work if they aren't advertised."

Li Ye looked at the black liquid in his hand, his brow furrowed. His senses told him this stuff wasn't good.

But he also knew that such things existed on the market. Liquids were the easiest to absorb, but they were invariably expensive, even more so than regular food ingredients.

Thirty thousand for everything?

He felt like he was a test subject.

But if it was just this, Li Ye didn't mind.

His Authority allowed him to convert any 'cooked' food into Blood Essence. He could even eat poisoned food, as long as it was cooked, and be fine.

Even without any seasonings, a piece of rotten meat smeared with poison, as long as it was considered cooked, would be fine.

Similarly, anything that was processed, no matter what it was, was a step in cooking, so it would be fine.

As long as he didn't eat it completely raw, he was fine with anything else. Even just cutting it with a knife would suffice, treating it like sashimi.

Li Ye raised the large bowl and gulped down the liquid.

The liquid tasted like mush, with a grainy texture, similar to unsweetened pearl milk tea.

The moment he swallowed it, his movements stiffened, and the arm holding the bowl visibly trembled.

"What's wrong? Doesn't taste good? Nutrient solutions are like this, just drink it all in one go."

Tang Shengchun's voice reached Li Ye, making his stiffened movements smooth out as he quickly finished the drink.

Blood Essence value: 81.1!

He had been using the Five Flavors Chopsticks for meals at school these past few days. Combined with his daily training and meals, his Blood Essence had stabilized at 81 when he arrived here.

This bowl had increased it by 0.1!

This was the biggest increase he had encountered so far.

He handed the empty bowl to Tang Shengchun and exclaimed, "Indeed, I can feel my Blood Essence surging. This effect is very strong!"

"This is the power of technology."

Tang Shengchun smiled with satisfaction. "Let's rest for an hour. Once your stamina recovers, we'll continue training. I guarantee you'll break through the Dragon Gate before the summer ends. You can head upstairs now; there's a lounge you can use freely."

Then, he walked up the stairs. Watching his retreating back, Li Ye's expression instantly turned grim.

His Blood Essence had improved, but there was something wrong with the substance.

A big problem!

This bowl of black sludge was made from a mixture of fermented, moldy grains, pressed together with the black worms of formed Filth Worms.

That's right, it was the same Filth Worms Li Ye had mistaken before, and now he could taste them!

And the granular texture he felt in his mouth...

Were locust eggs, showing signs of being demonic!

No wonder his Blood Essence had increased so much. It was like the Ironclad Boar; he was eating demons, but this time, he was eating dangerous ones!

The insect eggs were refined by his Authority upon entering his stomach, but his subtle senses told him that without Authority, the eggs would have been absorbed by his body and spread throughout.

Even without Authority, this substance would have had an effect, boosting a person's Blood Essence, but at the same time, allowing the eggs to nest.

His own Blood Essence, influenced by the insect eggs, would likely mutate, and the moment he stepped into the Dragon Gate Realm, he would completely become a nest for the eggs.

"Using the human body as an ovary to produce locusts."

Li Ye gritted his teeth. "A Locust-Human Nest, and a Locust-Human Nest at the Dragon Gate Realm! What is he trying to do?"

He wasn't a scammer, nor was he trying to test medicine as Li Ye had thought.

This was something far more sinister—a terrorist spreading harm!

He had to strike hard!

Li Ye took out his phone.